No. 12 Florida tallies another victory in SEC play defeating Arkansas 6-1. Florida was nearly undefeated in Fayetteville and will continue its road stretch Sunday afternoon in Missouri.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 12 Florida Gators defeated No. 51 Arkansas 6-1 on Friday evening in Fayetteville. The win on the road now bumps Florida’s record to 9-7, going 5-2 in conference play.
The first win of the evening came from the undefeated Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> and Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> duo on court two. The doubles team defeated Arkansas’ Lenka Stara and Grace O’Donnell 6-1. The win marks the duos third victory since being paired up for SEC play.
Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> and Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> secured the second doubles win for Florida defeating No. 36 Morgan Cross and Anet Koskel 7-5. Dudeney and Rowinska found themselves down 5-4 before Dudeney served an ace at 40-15 to close out the ninth game of the set and even the score at five all. The duo maintained their efforts in the final two games of their match to close out with a 7-5 victory and give Florida a 1-0 advantage.
Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> and Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144> were up 5-4 before opponents Kelly Keller and Carolina Gomez won two games in a row to take a 6-5 lead. The Gators remained patient and broke the Razorbacks’ serve to force a tiebreaker at six-games all. Court three doubles was unable to finish out the tiebreak before Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> and Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> clinched the doubles point for Florida.
Florida initiated singles play strong, securing four first set wins over Arkansas to extend the Gators advantage. Court six was first to close out in Fayetteville with Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> defeating Grace O’Donnell 6-0, 6-1. Rowinska’s win over O’Donnell in the singles category marks her second SEC win of the 2024 season.
No. 84 Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> tallied Florida’s third point over the Razorbacks to increase Florida’s lead to 3-0. Briggs defeated Morgan Cross 6-3, 6-0 on court three and now holds a 5-9 overall record and is 3-2 in SEC play.
No. 12 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> notched the fourth and final point for the Gators defeating another highly ranked player, No. 31 Carolina Gomez. It took Gailis a few games to find her rhythm in the first set, trailing 4-2 before winning four games straight to take the first set 6-4 in a comeback effort. Gailis’ energy was carried into set two as she closed out 6-1 and held the lead for the entirety of the final set.
No. 109 Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> also grabbed a win at Arkansas defeating Kacie Harvey. Lopez cruised through the first set with a 6-1 victory, but was quickly challenged by Harvey in the second. The second set was a back and forth battle on court five, but it was Lopez who got it done at 7-5 to punch another point on the board for the Gators at 5-0.
Florida clinched the match over Arkansas after the conclusion of Rachel Gailis'<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> straight set victory but the two SEC teams decided to play out the final matches. Court two ended in favor of the Razorbacks, with Kelly Keller defeating Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> 6-2, 3-6, (10-7). Keller’s victory over Dahlstrom marked Arkansas only point of the day and ended Dahlstrom’s undefeated streak in SEC play as she now holds a 4-1 conference record.
The final court to finish play was Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> and Lenka Stara on four. Dudeney fell in the first set 6-4, but retaliated in the second to claim it 6-3 and force a 10-point match tiebreaker. Dudeney’s strong performance on the backend of the match carried through as she finished out 10-6 over Stara and punched the Gators 6-1 win against Arkansas.
FINAL RESULTS:
Singles: (Order of Finish: 6, 3, 1, 5, 2, 4 )
1. #15 Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> (UF) def. #31 Carolina Gomez (ARKANSAS) 6-4, 6-1
2. Kelly Keller (ARKANSAS) def #52 Sara Dahlstrom<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/sara-dahlstrom/16140> (UF) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
3. #84 Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> (UF) def. Morgan Cross (ARKANSAS) 6-3, 6-0
4. Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142> (UF) def. Lenka Stara (ARKANSAS) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
5. #109 Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283> (UF) def. Kacie Harvey (ARKANSAS) 6-1, 7-5
6. Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> (UF) def. Grace O’Donnell (ARKANSAS) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles: (Order of Finish: 2, 1)
1. Alicia Dudeney<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/alicia-dudeney/16142>/Malwina Rowinska<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/malwina-rowinska/16397> def. #36 Morgan Cross/Anet Koskel (ARKANSAS) 7-5
2. Qavia Lopez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/qavia-lopez/16283>/Carly Briggs<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/carly-briggs/16139> def. Lenka Stara/Grace O’Donnell (ARKANSAS) 6-1
3. Bente Spee<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/bente-spee/16144>/Rachel Gailis<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-tennis/roster/rachel-gailis/16143> vs. Kelly Keller/Carolina Gomez (ARKANSAS) 6-6 (5-3), unfinished
NEXT UP:
The Gators will stay on the road and head to Mizzou for a Sunday matchup against the Tigers. Missouri currently hold a 4-14 record, but has yet to see a win in SEC play going 0-6.
Mizzou has one ranked player in the singles category, No. 117 Mae Canete with a 14-7 record. Canete is also ranked on the doubles side with partner Christine Canete at No. 53 boasting a 16-9 record in gold and black.
Doubles are set to go out at 11 a.m. with singles to immediately follow. Live stats and streaming for Sunday’s match can be accessed here.<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=524724>
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